Welcome back to the Weekly Round Up! This week was actually a pretty good week. Sure, Trump issued a permit for the Keystone XL, coral reefs are in the shitter essentially globally, and Shell’s doing some real shady shit in Nigeria- but, scientists have reversed some of the signs of ageing in mice, plants can learn from environmental cues, and the dinosaur family tree might get a complete face-lift. So let’s dive in! Continue reading →

Welcome back to the Weekly Round Up! If this is your first time here, it’s nice to meet you! Grab a seat, get comfortable, settle in- cause it’s been an interesting week. We’ve got some shitty stuff- like more microplastics in our oceans than imaginable and an end to the on ground protests against the DAPL- but also some really great stuff- like California moving to save the environment from Trump and some bee research that is seriously cool. Honestly, the bee research is real fascinating. So without further ado, let’s dive in! Continue reading →

Miss us yesterday??? We’ve been super busy here at Earth|Unfiltered, so some things may have fallen through the cracks. But fear not, we are back today, with all of this week’s environmental news that turned our heads- or really just my head, because I’m the one writing this… I HAVE ALL THE POWER! Anyways, this week there were light tasting animals, helpful Arctic poop, a dubious smog tower, and the end of neonics in Canada?!?!? So let’s dive in! Continue reading →

We’re back with your Weekly Round Up, and boy do we have a bunch of stories that somehow flew under the radar this week. An oil spill off the coast of Louisiana, the shocking decline of American bee populations over the winter, and an eukaryotic cell that shouldn’t be able to exists, to name a few. There’s tons of stuff that happened this week, so get comfortable, and let’s dive right in! Continue reading →

If you’re in need of a few wins today after the Raptors horrendous loss last night, then look no further. We’ve jam packed this week’s Weekly Round Up with enough wins to make last night feel at least a little bit better. We’re also talking maggots and drunk plankton, so there’s something for everyone. Let’s start this weekend off right, and dive right in! Continue reading →

Unlike many other environmental issues, the plight of pollinators have very real consequences to our way of life. Pollinators are necessary for the reproduction of approximately 85% of the world’s flowering plants, including two-thirds of the world’s crop species. The economic value of the services these native pollinators provide, in the US alone, is estimated at $3 billion per year. Besides what pollinators provide for us humans, they also provide necessary ecological services to countless animals by supporting fruit and seed production. As we’ve discussed already, all pollinators are feeling the pressure right now from habitat loss, pesticide use, and diseases and parasites. So, to cap-off our series of articles, we want to give you the tips and tricks to help protect these tiny dynamos! Continue reading →

If you are fans of opinion articles on Facebook, then you have for sure come across neonicotinoid pesticides! They’re the Kardashians of the pesticide world, everyone has an opinion on them. These kinds of pesticides were first used in the 1990s and have drummed up quite a lot of controversy, due to their potential link to the bee-crash being experienced in Europe and North America. There is a lot we know about these pesticides and a whole lot that we don’t know- and we’re breaking it all down right now!Continue reading →

Welcome back to another edition of the Weekly Round Up. This week we’re doing something a little different. There were tons of environmental news stirues that popped up this week, so instead of going crazy in depth in all of them, we’re instead going to be a hub for the week’s best, most interesting, news. You’ll get a quick overview of each, and then can jump to full articles of what interests you the most. This week we’ve got good news for bees, man-made islands, animal cruelty, and a shrinking Greenland. Let’s dive in. Continue reading →

Unless you have been living under a rock, than you know that the world has an issue with its bees. Research has shown that in the US alone we have seen the number of commercial honey bee hives drop by half since World War 2. It’s also estimated that US beekeepers lose around 30% of their hives every year. This loss hits close to home because of how dependent we are on the pollination services bees provide to us, at no cost. It is estimated that 1 out of every 3 bites of food we take was made possible by bees and other pollinators. Pollination is such a necessity that in 2012 the gross revenue from the pollination industry was $655.6 million! Continue reading →

Many times we talk about how humans have encroached on animals’ habitats. It seems like there is no place on Earth that is immune to mankind’s ever expanding population. Fortunately, sometimes animals take back their rightful homes- and it can be insanely funny! Enjoy this list of moments where animals disrupted our mundane lives.

As far as I know, BuzzFeed is about two things: lists and pictures. Unfortunately, they’re missing out on the, obviously, great idea of being solely about bees. Who wouldn’t want to read fun tidbits and facts about bees all the time?!?! I mean it’s already in their name- buzz like a bee, buzz as in BuzzFeed- their articles could practically write themselves! So that’s what I’m going to do- tell you all some pretty sweet facts about bees before BuzzFeed realizes they are sitting on a bee filled goldmine. If you don’t think bees are pretty damn awesome after this, then you’re just wrong. Continue reading →

Once again, nature continues to both amaze and puzzle us at the same time! Scientists were able to create a robotic insect, as well as link coral destruction to sunscreen, and a Coca-Cola bottle facility was charged with falsifying pollution data. In some good news, Oslo plans to ban cars in the city! But in some bad news, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency can’t work with dead fish… Enjoy! Continue reading →

We’ve all looked out at a garden or walked through a forest and been in awe at the designs and colours that flowers produce. But did you know that there are secret patterns that are only visible to pollinating insects? Called nectar guides, these patterns kelp direct bees towards a plant’s nectar source, like a landing strip at an airport. You see, unlike humans, bees and other pollinators are able to see UV light, which are how plants make their guides. By absorbing UV light in certain places, darker and lighter patterns are made based on where the light is reflected. And now, thanks to UV lenses on cameras, we can now see them too! Check em out: Continue reading →

Today’s a beautiful day out, isn’t it? It’s almost like it’s summer out, and I don’t know about you, but that gives me this nice warm and fuzzy feeling inside. But based on the old calendar it’s not yet summer. So that got me thinking, we’ve set up a wonderful calendar system that tells us when months and seasons change, but what about the rest of the animal world? How do plants know when to release pollen, or hibernators when to wake up, or, really, how does any living thing know that it’s time to go into summer mode? Turns out, it’s a bit more involved than you might think. Continue reading →

Facts about animals are something people love to share. Be it because of our love for animals, our fascination with the unknown, or because we like to seem smart to our friends, people love to talk about what animals can do. Unfortunately, a lot of our favourite facts out there are completely wrong. So to do you all a favour (think about how smart you’ll seem around your friends now), we’ve dug up the truth behind 13 of the most popular animal myths. We’ve even done a video for you!Continue reading →

There’s a general feeling among humans that we’re far better than our animal counterparts. This isn’t necessarily always the case though. Sometimes, animals are just better than us. Here are five times they beat us:

1. Honey Bees vs. Shakira

When it comes down to truthfulness of hips, honey bees have Shakira beaten. When a bee finds a new field of flowers, she must then pass on its location to her hive mates. To do this she performs something called a waggle dance, where she shakes her abdomen and dances in a figure eight. Other bees then watch her movement and hip shakes, and learn where they need to go to find the new flowers. In this way a bee’s hips literally don’t lie, sorry Shakira.Continue reading →